Mining planers having an impact action



Fb. 17, 1959 J. HEQRMANN 2,873,959 I MINiNG PLANERS HAVING AN IMPACTACTION Filed May 24, 1955 INVENTOR. {HUM M N/414M W WW4? t MININGPLANERS HAVING AN IMPACT ACTION Julius Herrmann, Lunen, Germany,assignor to Gewerkschaft, Eisenhutte. Westfalia, Wethmar, near Lunen(Westphalia), Germany, a corporation of Germany 1 Application Mayv 2 4,1955, Serial No. 510,788 Claims priority, application Germany May 25,1954 6 Claims. 01. 262--8) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in mining planers.

Mining planers such as coal mining planers are known and comprise aplaner cutting head which is drawn along a mine face for the cutting orplowing of a strip of mineral, such as the coal, from the mine face. Themining planer is particularly well adapted for a type of mining known aslong wall mining and may be used for efiiciently removing coal by thelong wall method and especially from narrow seams.

v The mining planer preferably has a planer cutting head which ismovable in either direction along a longitudinally extending conveyor.The planer head is provided with cutters for cutting in each directionand is drawn back and forth along the leading portion of the conveyor.

In operation, the planer conveyor is positioned along the mine face ofalong wall panel in a mining gallery and rests on the mine floor.sections which are connected together so as to allow a flexingtherebetween. The conveyor is urged toward the mine face and the planercutting head is drawn back and forth along the conveyor by means of aflexible traction element such as a chain cable or the like. As theplaner cutting head is drawn back and forth along the conveyor, and theconveyor is urged toward the mine face, the planer cutsv and turns orplows cut material in a substantially continuous manner into the.conveyor which, in turn, continuously transports the material forremoval.

Upon casual observation of the planer in operation, it may be noted thatthe forward movement does not take place uniformly, but that the same iseffected more or less irregularly with jerky motions.

such asthe chain, it may be noted that the pulling tension continuouslychanges. 7

.One object of this inventionis a mining planer construction which willutilize the irregular forward motion of the planer head to obtain anincreased efiiciency in output. {This and still further objects willbecome, apparent. from the following description read in conjunctionwith the drawing, in which; Y a g v Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan viewshowing a'portion of a conventional plow planer in operation,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of a planer cut ting tool, inaccordance with the invention,

Fig. 3' shows the cutting tool of Fig. 2 partially in section,

4 is a side elevation of a portionof an embodiment of a planer cutter inaccordance with the invention,

Fig. 5 is apartial section of a further embodiment of a planer cutter inaccordance with the invention,

Fig. 6 is a partial section of a still further embodiment of aplanercutter in accordance with the invention,

7 is a side elevation of a still further embodiment of a planercu'tter'in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a still further The conveyoris composed of If a measuring member. is inserted between 'the. planerand the traction element ice embodiment of a cutter in accordance withthe invention,

and I Fig. 9 is a plan view of a portion of a planer head showing astill further embodiment of a cutter construction in accordance with theinvention.

' In accordance with the invention the irregular forward motion of theplaner and the variation in tension of the flexible traction element areused to produce an impact or striking action on the planer cutter to aidin the cutting action and to increase the output. The planer, inaccordance with the invention, has a conventional planer head with aplaner cutter movable along the mine face by means of a flexibletraction element. In accordance with the novel feature of the invention,a cutting tool defines at least a portion of the planer cutter and ismounted for limited yielding movement against increased cuttingresistance in a direction substantially opposite to the cuttingdirection of the planer. 'In operation, as the cutter encounters anincreased cutting resistance, thesame yields, i. e., moves, in adirection substantially opposite to the cutting direction for a limiteddistance. The energy gained in this manner, for example, the increasedkinetic energy of the planer, is then utilized for the additionalactuation of the cutter, as for example, the inertia of the planer maybe utilized for increased cutting action upon striking the cutting toolwhen the same reaches its end limit of yieldable movement.

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to theembodiments shown in the accompanying drawing.

Referring to Fig. l,' the planer consists of the planer head 10 which ismovable back and forth along the leading portion 11 of thelongitudinally extending conveyor 12. The conveyor 12 of conventionalconstruction has the two laterally guidedchains 14 and 15 which areconnected to each other at spaced intervals by the scraper flights 13.The chains 14- and 1 5 are driven in any conventional manner as, forexample, around a'sprocket wheel, by a drive motor and the scraperflights 13 effect the conveyance of the mined material by dragging thesame along the conveyor.

The planer head His drawn back and forth along the conveyor by means ofthe flexible traction element consisting of the chain 16-17. Theplaner'head has the planer cutters 19 and 20 for cutting in eachdirection of travel.

The conveyor 12 is positioned longitudinally along a mine face as, forexample, a long wall in coal mining. The conveyor is urged toward themine face as, for example, by means of pneumatic jacks and the like andthe planer 'head 10 with planer cutters 19 and 20 drawn back and forthin contact with the coal, by means of the flexible traction elements 16,17 driven in any conventional manner. As the plane'r pulls in thedirection of the portion of the chains 16, cutter 19 eifects the cuttingof the coal which is automaticallyv plowed-into the conveyor forremoval. When the direction is reversed so that'traction is exertedon'the portion 17 of thechain, the cutter 20 effects the removalof thecoal and the plowing of the same into the conveyor. In each direction ofmotion, a strip of coal corresponding to thickness 21, is removed fromthe mine face and forced into the conveyor for removal. The conveyorwith the planer is continuously advanced by means of the force of thepneumatic jacks or the like. I

Injorder to effect the removal of the coal, the planer cutter 19 andplaner head 10 is pulled with the elastic tension at 22 by means of thechain 16 or by means of another flexible traction element such as acable rope or the like. The cutter 19 in this connection penetrates to acertain depth into thev coal until the tension in the.

traction element 16 has risen to such an extent that the coal is brokenoff approximately along the line of fracture 23. The planer thereupondue to the sudden decrease in resistance moves forward rapidly by asmall amount, tension of the traction element 16 being correspondinglydecreased. Since, however, chain 16 is drawn forward at a constant speedby the drive, tension soon again increases. The cutter 19 againpenetrates into the coal and the process is repeated in the mannerdescribed. The fact that the coal is not a completely homogeneous massand that the flexible traction element such as the chain 16-17 has acertain elastic extensibility, are factors contributing to theun-uniforrn motion of the planar.

In accordance with the invention, in order to utilize this un-uniformmotion to advantage, at least a portion of the planer cutter 1920 may bedefined by the picklike cutting tool 24, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thecutter tool 24 is axially movable to alimited extent within the planerhead 10. As shown in Fig. 3, cutter tool 24 is axially slidable betweenan extended position in which its collar 26 strikes the planer head anda rear position in which the base 29 strikes the portion 28 of theplaner head 10. Tool 24 is resiliently urged to its forward position asis shown in Fig. 3 by means of a spring 25 which presses against thecollar 26. The tension of the spring 25 should be somewhat less than thepulling forth exerted by the chain 16.

In operation as the planer head 10 is pulled by the chain 16 in thedirection shown in Fig. 1, the cutting tool 24 contacts the mine face asshown in Fig. 2, the tool 24 first of all penetrates a small amount intothe coal. As the resistance in the coal increases, the forwardpenetration speed of the tool 24 correspondingly decreases. The planerhead, however, is pulled forward at a uniform speed so that the spring25 compresses and planar head 10 moves forward in relation to thecutting tool 24. The stop surface 28 of the planer head 10 finally,however, strikes the base 29 of the cutter tool 24 so that a portion ofthe inertia force of the forwardly moving planer head 10 and of thechain 16 is transmitted to the cutting tool 24 which is accordinglyaccelerated forward and which in turn breaks olf the coal approximatelyalong the dotted line 30 as shown in Fig. 2. In this connection thecutting tool 24 is suddenly released from the load and is suddenly movedaxially to its forward position as shown in Fig. 3 by means of thebiasing force of the spring 25. The cutting tool 24 and the planer headthen continues to move forward with the same speed until the cuttingtool 24 again encounters the increased resistance of the coal and. theprocedure is repeated.

In place of a flexible traction element, the forward motion of theplaner head 10 as, for example, in the direction 27 as shown in Fig. 3may be efiected in the known manner by a spring, pressure cylinder, orthe like.

If two planers of identical construction were simultaneously used underidentical conditions the irregular movements of the planer heads would,at best, only rarely coincide. countered along the vertical length ofthe planer cutters or the individual cutting tools vertically positionedalong the planer cutter head rarely coincide. This phenomena may beadvantageously utilized in accordance with the invention as illustratedin the following embodiments:

In accordance with the embodiment as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, thefront end of the planer head 10 has a leaf-shaped cutting tool 31 whichis pivoted at a horizontal pin 32 and which terminates in the toolcutting tips 33 and 34 both of which face forward in the direction ofmotion of the planer head 10 in operation and are positionedsubstantially vertically one above the other. If the planer is pulledforward by the chain 16 with a constant speed and if the cutter 34, forexample, encounters a greater resistance than the cutter 33, the cutterIn the same manner, the resistance en- 34 will lag somewhat behind andthe leaf will pivot about the pin 32. The forward speed of the cutter 34will thus be less than the forward speed of advance of the planer head10. On the other hand, however, the opposite cutter point 33 will beforced at a correspondingly greater speed against the coal, looseningit. Finally, the lower end of the leaf 31 will strike against the planerhead 10 and the inertia force of the planer head will be concentrated atthe lower cutting point 34 so that the latter will overcome theincreased resistance which opposed it. If the point 33 of the leaf 31would first meet correspondingly increased resistance as compared to thepoint 34, and the process would of course be reversed.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 the two elongated cutting tools 22 arepivotally connected to the double arm lever 35 which is pivoted aboutthe pin 36 in the plow planer head. The cutting tools 24 in the normalposition are in a substantially vertical plane one above the other andtheir operation is substantially identical to that described inconnection with the embodiment shown in Fig. 4.

In the embodiment as shown in Fig. '6, the cutting tools 24, instead ofbeing attached to the double arm lever 35 are pivotally connected to theends of a cam lever 37, the convex rear side 38 of which rests against afiat support surface 39 of the planer head 10. A spring 40, resilientlyurges the lever rearwardly so that its surface 37 contacts thesupporting surface 39 of the planer head. The spring 40 also tends toresiliently hold the cam 37 in a position as shown, with the centralportion of the convex surface 38 in contact with the support surface 39.The operation of this embodiment is substantially identical to thatdescribed in connection with Figs. 4 and 5, except that upon theswinging of the cam lever 37, there is obtained a continuousdisplacement of the pivot point, i. e., the point of contact of theconvex surface 38 and fiat support surface 39 and thus a continuouschange of the lever ratio. I

In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 7, a single, flattened cutter 41 ismounted in front of the planer head 10. The forward edge of the cutter41 is serrated forming the cutting teeth 44 and the rear edge 38 isconvex shape forming the rolling face 38. In addition, the rear end ofthe cutter 41 has the projection 42, which engages in the socket 43which is somewhat larger than the projection 42 to allow a limitedmovement therein. Due to the looseness of fit of the projection 42 inthe socket 43 and the convex rolling surface 38, the cutter 40 may swingor pivot in a vertical plane, i. e., roll on the surface 38. Inoperation, if the teeth 44 in the upper portion of the cutter 41encounter increased resistance, the cutter will roll on the convexrolling face 38 so that the motion of the upper cutter teeth withrespect to the planer head is retarded while motion of the lower cuttingteeth with respect to the planet head is increased until the limit ofmotion is reached and the planer head strikes the upper portion of thecutter 41 transmitting its inertia of move ment to the upper teeth,increasing their cutting action. Conversely, if the lower portion of thecutter 41 encounters the increased resistance, the procedure isreversed.'

In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 8, the cutter 45 -is in the form of aflat plate with a serrated forward cutting edge defining individualcutting teeth. The cutter 45 is connected to the planer head 10 by thecrossed levers 46 and 47, pivotally connected to the cutter 45 and theplaner head 10. The cross lever connection allows swinging or pivotingof the cutter 45 in a substantially vertical plane and thus allows inoperation a portion of the cutter 45 to have its forward motion retardedwith respect to the planer head 10 a limited distance upon encounteringincreased resistance in the same manner as described in the embodimentshown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Depending on the hardnessand the cleavability of the material to bemined, one orthe other of the various embodiments shown may prove moreadvantageous.

As shown in Fig. 9, the planer cutter on planer head is defined by anumber of cutting tools 24, 48, staggered with respect to each other andpositioned vertically one above the other. The cutting tool 24 may, forexample, be movable, to correspond to the cutting tool 24 shown in Figs.2 and 3, while the cutting tool 48 may be stationary.

In accordance with the invention, depending on the nature of the coal orother material to be mined, it is possible either to increase thecapacity or reduce the power consumption of the planer. The abovedescribed features of the planer head and cutter may also be used in thesame or similar form in scraper boxes or other mining tools having astripping action in the mining of coal or other ores.

While the invention has been described in detail with reference to thespecific embodiments shown, various changes and modifications willbecome apparent to the artisan which fall within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mining planer having a planer head with a planer cutter, movablealong a mine face, the improvement which comprises a cutting tooldefining, at least, a portion of said planer cutter mounted for limitedmovement relative the planer head in substantially its cutting directionand the direction reversed thereto, means resiliently urging saidcutting tool in substantially its cutting direction, and stop meanssubstantially rigid with the planer head limiting the movement of saidcutting tool in the direction opposite its cutting direction.

2. Improvement according to claim 1, in which said cutting toolcomprises an elongated cutting pick mounted for axial movement in saidplaner head and including an additional stop means for limiting theaxial movement of said cutter pick in the cutting direction thereof.

3. Improvement according to claim 1 in which said cutting tool comprisesat least two vertically spaced-apart cutting members connected by a camlever, the rear side of said cam lever being convex shape positioned incontact with a substantially fiat support surface defined by said planerhead.

4. Improvement according to claim 3 in which said cutting members arepivotally connected to said cam lever and including spring meansresiliently biasing said cam lever in contact with said support surface.

5. Improvement according to claim 1 in which said planer cutter isadditionally defined by at least one cutting toolrigidly connected tosaid planer head.

6. Improvement according to claim 1 in which ,said planer head ismovable along a mine face by means of a flexible traction element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,614,476 Jennings Oct. 21, 1952 2,690,903 Sloane Oct. 5, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 486,895 France Feb. 22, 1918 862,433 Germany Jan. 12, 1953161,005 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1921 622,923 Great Britain May 10, 1949717,033 Great Britain Oct. 20, 1954

